Occupational Stress and Diversity

Stress, Career Success, and Diversity

Posted on 2014/06/09

As UIC promotes a culture of inclusion that embraces diversity, recent research showing a strong link between occupational stress and perceptions of prejudice and discrimination might provide meaningful insights.

The perception of stressors in the workplace impacts employees differently. There are as many diverse reactions to occupational stress as there are differences in people in the work environment. The experience of stressful work conditions or isolated incidents may impact an employee’s job performance or long-term career success. Unequal treatment of employees – fact-based or perceived – creates unnecessary barriers to successful accomplishment of work responsibilities.

While it is important to create a supportive work environment for all employees at UIC, faculty, particularly those in underrepresented groups need to feel valued to achieve at the highest levels. A recent report focusing on the relationship between stress and the retention of minority faculty addresses the importance of placing a premium on understanding the “stress” and career success connection.

Click here to read the preliminary overview and findings of the report, “Understanding the Relationship between Work Stress and U.S. Research Institutions’ Failure to Retain Underrepresented Minority (URM) Faculty.”